Women Legos RACE 9.16

​Lego will make Legos of five scientists who are women. They all worked for NASA, the U.S. space agency. The five women were often the first women to have their jobs.

The new line of Legos was announced on Tuesday. The new Legos are Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Nancy Grace Roman, Sally Ride and Mae Jemison. These women worked at NASA and helped with major missions. Hamilton and Johnson helped put the first man on the moon. Roman designed a telescope. Ride and Jemison traveled in space.

​New Legos will be Women Scientists

Maia Weinstock came up with the idea. She is an editor at a science newspaper. She says the Legos will help everyone learn more about scientists who are women.

Lise Dydensborg is the spokeswoman of Lego Ideas. Legos Ideas is making the new Legos. She said the project will be called Women of NASA. She wants it to tell people more about women in the sciences.

NASA helped Lego make the new line. It will tell stories about NASA's history. There will also be Legos showing space shuttles and NASA computers. The Legos should be on sale next year.

​Legos Will Teach About Women Scientists

New Legos will be Women Scientists

By PBS NewsHour, adapted by Newsela staff

More people are paying attention to women in NASA. This is because of the movie "Hidden Figures." "Hidden Figures" shows Johnson's story. She is a mathematician who helped send John Glenn into space. Actor Taraji P. Henson played Johnson in the film. She called Johnson "a true NASA and American hero."

In 2014, people became angry with Lego. Charlotte Benjamin, then 7 years old, pointed out that there were not any women Legos with good jobs. She wrote a letter to the company, which many people read. Lego then made an all-women Lego set. Some of the Legos were female scientists.

​"Hidden Figures"

People were also angry at Mattel for the same reason. Mattel makes Barbie. It published a book called "Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer." The book showed Barbie doing a bad job. She needed help from men. This makes it seem like men are the real scientists. People were angry about the book. Then, Mattel created a Barbie that makes computer games.

Reshma Saujani thinks Lego is now doing a good job. Saujani started Girls Who Code, an organization that brings more girls into the sciences. She thinks what Lego is doing will help change the way young girls think of themselves. Saujani said the toys are important. They tell young girls early on what they can do and who they can be.

​"Hidden Figures"

Open Ended

What does "agency" mean in the paragraph below?

Lego will make Legos of five scientists who are women. They all worked for NASA, the U.S. space agency. The five women were often the first women to have their jobs.

Open Ended

What does "missions" mean in the paragraph below?

The new line of Legos was announced on Tuesday. The new Legos are Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Nancy Grace Roman, Sally Ride and Mae Jemison. These women worked at NASA and helped with major missions.

Open Ended

What does "telescope" mean in the paragraph below?

Hamilton and Johnson helped put the first man on the moon. Roman designed a telescope. Ride and Jemison traveled in space.

Open Ended

What does "telescope" mean in the sentence below?

She is a mathematician who helped send John Glenn into space.

Multiple Choice

Which answer choice states a MAIN idea of the entire article?

• There have been many women scientists who worked for NASA.

• People were angry with Lego and Mattel for not making toys about NASA.

• There will be a new line of Legos about famous women who worked at NASA.

• The movie "Hidden Figures" made people pay attention to women in NASA.

Multiple Choice

What is the purpose of the section "Legos Will Teach About Women Scientists"?

• to give details about the history of NASA

• to explain the goals behind the new line of Legos

• to give details about careers for women at NASA

• to explain when people can buy the new line of Legos

Multiple Choice

Read the paragraph from the section "'Hidden Figures.'"

In 2014, people became angry with Lego. Charlotte Benjamin, then 7 years old, pointed out that there were not any women Legos with good jobs. She wrote a letter to the company, which many people read. Lego then made an all-women Lego set. Some of the Legos were female scientists.

What information do you get from this paragraph?

• questions people have about how to write letters to Lego

• how many people bought Legos that were female scientists

• problems Lego had after it made its first all-women Lego set

• what first caused Lego to make Lego sets with women scientists

Multiple Choice

Read the last paragraph from the section "Hidden Figures."

Reshma Saujani thinks Lego is now doing a good job. Saujani started Girls Who Code, an organization that brings more girls into the sciences. She thinks what Lego is doing will help change the way young girls think of themselves. Saujani said the toys are important. They tell young girls early on what they can do and who they can be.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• Many young girls who like science no longer like to play with toys.

• Reshma Saujani loved to play with Legos when she was a little girl.

• Toys like Legos can change the way girls think about what they can be.

• There are many organizations that bring more girls into the sciences.

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1. On the next slide, open Google Docs to use RACE templet.

2. Write paragraph on the following slide.

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Open Ended

What search terms might you use to conduct more research to understand some of the topics in this article better? What would you hope to learn in your research?

Use RACE Templet to organize your answer. Then, write your paragraph below.